IronPigs help Allentown programs

AROUND THE VALLEY

Gallagher resigns

Tom Gallagher steps down after seven seasons with Allen girls hoops program

IronPigs mascot Ferrous poses with the Dieruff baseball team and the Husky… (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO )

May 14, 2012|Keith Groller

The Allen and Dieruff baseball teams combined for just six wins this spring.

But the Canaries and Huskies got the chance to smile and feel good about themselves last Wednesday when some special visitors stopped by their practices.

Lehigh Valley IronPigs general manager Kurt Landes, community relations director Sarah Marten and team mascot Ferrous made visits to each side of town to check out some of the updated equipment that both schools have purchased through donations made by IronPigs Charities.

In January 2011, Dieruff received $6,000 to fund construction of a new outdoor batting cage at Irving Park designed to help both the Husky baseball and softball teams better utilize their time both during the regular season and offseason.

The remaining funds were used to purchase four portable backboards to be used by the boys and girls basketball teams.

Allen received $6,000 this past January to buy a new pitching machine to replace the two old and worn machines that the school had purchased more than 30 years ago. In addition, funds were used for replacement nets for the outdoor softball and baseball batting cages that were also in need of repair.

"Every little bit helps," said Allen baseball coach Mike Dopera. "We've got great kids this year who come every day and work hard. "We've become much more competitive this year and things like this give us a boost. We enjoy playing at Coca-Cola Park and we're glad the IronPigs are here. We went to the IronPigs winter banquet and received the check from them. We are very thankful."

Landes said the IronPigs are happy to help when and where they can.

"We receive more than 200 grant applications and it's hard to pare it down to 15 or 20 organizations depending on the amount we have to give," Landes said. "But after you give out the checks at the winter banquet, it's nice to come out and see first-hand how that money is being used.

"To come here and see how proud these kids are of their new equipment is really neat to see. You want to give kids an opportunity to be able play baseball and have good equipment. Hopefully, the kids see that we're giving back and see that it's important. And then they'll also want to give back as adults to their community."

TOM GALLAGHER RESIGNS

Tom Gallagher said it was a tough decision and he agonized over it for a long time.

But Gallagher, a fixture on the local basketball scene for four decades, has resigned as Allen's girls basketball coach. He told the team in an emotional meeting on Thursday.

Gallagher coached the Chicks for the last seven seasons, going 98-78, but 0-22 in the past year.

The highlight for Gallagher was winning the District 11 4A championship in 2008 and advancing to the state semis with a team that finished 26-6.

"It's tough to say I am quitting, but my wife [Sherry] is retiring in June and I just thought it was time," Gallagher said. "It certainly was a great run, not only with the high school, but also with the Lehigh Valley League, which I helped to get started back in the mid-1980s. All in all, it was a very rewarding 38 years involved with girls basketball.

"I got to meet a lot of nice people; opposing players and coaches, the officials, the scorekeepers, the timers, people at the refreshment stand, everybody ... it was a wonderful experience. I was really blessed and you couldn't ask for a more a supportive wife than Sherry."

Gallagher said he was proud to have had a hand in the development of numerous standout girls players over the years, helping them get started in the sport.

Gallagher got started in youth basketball while coaching his daughter, Kelly, a beloved young lady who died in 1988 at age 19 after a valiant fight against leukemia. The Kelly Gallagher Memorial Golf Tournament ran for 21 years through 2009 and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and helped to fund the Kelly Gallagher Atrium in the cancer center at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

As for his Allen tenure, the 65-year-old Gallagher said that despite its winless record last year, Allen has some good players returning.

"Not that they're going to win a lot of games, but I really believe they are going to be much more competitive," he said. "We would have won some games last year, too, but I had to discipline kids. I started with 22 girls and ended up with 14. The one thing I've always stressed at Allen is that you've got to be respectful. You have to go to school and be a good citizen. If you're not, you're not going to play.

"Until this past season, I was very fortunate and had great kids at Allen. I had very few problems."

Gallagher's departure creates the second opening in girls basketball in the Allentown School District.

Dieruff dismissed Steve Middleton at the end of last season and, at last report, was nearing the end of the process to name his successor.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Messiah junior Sean Keiper (Parkland) was named to the second team of the all-Centennial Conference men's lacrosse team. Keiper led the team in caused turnovers (30) and contributed offensively with three assists while scooping up 43 groundballs.

James Madison soccer redshirt sophomore Adam Bastidas (Catasauqua) received the Justin Armitage Coaches Award for his contributions to a JMU season in which the Dukes finished first in the CAA regular season standings, advanced to the round-of-16 in the NCAA Tournament and finished 13-5-2.